We have an artist who has a required $1 per ticket artist charity donation which we have always set up as a fee (we assume this is standard practice). However, this artist is also being sold as part of our flex package (5 or more performances) and we cannot seem to figure out how to get it so that it operates correctly.
The ideal is that there is a $1 per ticket fee applied to the order for each ticket issued to this performance only, regardless of whether or not the performance is in a package or on its own. Current set-up is Performance Seat Level with only this performance selected (all relevant price types and MOSes select as well of course).
We tried including the relevant flex package, but that did not seem to apply the fee even when this performance was included in the flex package. We tried to create another fee that worked on the package seat level and were able to work out ways where it assigned a $1 fee for each package seat regardless of whether or not this performance was chosen as part of the flex package as well as another way where we generated the $1 fee only when that performance was part of the flex package but then Tessitura apparently decides that the fee should be applied to every ticket in the flex package and not just the one relevant performance. We assume the problem arises due to the fact that the concept of a "package seat" is different for a flex package than for a fixed package, but that does not help us much. Order-level and constituent-level fees are out for obvious reasons and we were rather hoping to not have to make this a user-defined fee.
The best idea we have so far is allowing the package to have a minimum of four in Tessitura while we continue to tell our patrons "minimum of five" and just pull this performance as an additional single line item rather than as part of the flex package, but we were hoping there was a better option out there.
Any ideas?
Hi John,
We don't use Flex Packages here so I can't say for sure if the problem is the fact that it's a flex pack performance or not.
Not sure if you checked this or not... but is your package MOS selected in that fee setup? We've occasionally been thwarted by a MOS or Price Type not being included in the Fee Setup so it's worth taking a look if you haven't already.
Another thing you could consider is adding that $1 as a separate layer on your ticket price for that show. That way you aren't dealing with fees at all!
Hey John -
Is your organization on version 12+? If so, have you considered setting this amount as a price layer, rather than a fee for those events? You can find more information on price layer's here, but a layer sounds better suited in this situation than a fee:
http://www.tessituranetwork.com/Help_System_v121/Content/Ticket%20Pricing/Price%20Layers.htm
Thanks,Maurice
Thanks for the suggestions so far. Unfortunately, while we are on Version 12 (12.1.2 to be a little more precise), we are required to have this fee broken out from the ticket price itself which is why we were not able to go with a ticket layer on this one (though you are right, that would have been nice and would have made this a LOT easier).
I did just also double-check that all of the necessary MOSes and price types were selected, so that also was not the case.
Thanks again for the help so far, and in advance for any more suggestions!
What about delivery methods – they are part of Fee rules too and sometimes get forgotten. Also is the Fee Rule set to the right season that the performance is in? Or if it set to All seasons in Fiscal Year – is it the right Fiscal Year (check the FYear value on the Campaign the performance is connected to)
From: Tessitura Ticketing Forum [mailto:forums-ticketing@tessituranetwork.com] On Behalf Of John Moskal II Sent: Monday, June 29, 2015 4:04 AM To: Sandra Ashby Subject: Re: [Tessitura Ticketing Forum] Per Ticket Fees and Flex Packages
From: Maurice Nounou <bounce-mauricenounou6335@tessituranetwork.com> Sent: 6/26/2015 7:28:14 PM
Thanks, Maurice
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We have "(all delivery methods)" selected. Season is good, as are the Fiscal Years--the fiscal year of the fee itself as well as that of the fiscal year of the campaign.
The campaign on the fee does not match the campaign on the performance, but I should not think that that is an issue as that is the case for almost all of our fees (we have, in fact, separate fee campaigns, and that has never been an issue thus far). Also, our "Fee Category" is set to "Single Ticket Per Ticket Fee", and, while we do have a category for "Subscription Order Fee", unless I am very much mistaken, that is simply a field for categorical purposes and has no bearing on the actual calculation of the fee.
I am pretty much out of ideas at this point in time unless we the solution is to update a local "get fee" procedure in order to make this work, which I cannot say that I have any great desire to do.
We are not on version 12 yet but do have fees set up on flex packages and they work exactly the same way as fixed seat packages for us! In your set up, I assume you have the fee defined as "rule based" and then in rules you have selected the applicable performances, price types, etc? The only other thing I can think of is "transaction type" in fee rules set to "sale"? I am very intrigued!
One more thing - try selecting the package that this performance is sold in as well as the performance. That is how we set up our flex fees and it seems to work! So we highlight FLEX in packages and JUST the applicable performance in performances. Good luck!
Thanks for being intrigued, Tracey! While we had had similar fees when we were on Version 11, we did not need those to be part of the package so I have nothing with which to directly compare this fee in that respect. Yes to "rule based", applicable performance and price types, Transaction type set to "sale" (exchange and return are not selected, but I cannot see that being an issue).
We tried with just the Flex Package selected under packages and just that performance under performances, and that works just fine for the performance when it is on its own (single line item), but that seems to apply that fee to every ticket to every performance in the Flex Package when it is added (package line item), regardless of whether that show is even in the selected performances.
Hi John
Did you have a solution to your problem? I ask because i am having the same problem with applying fees to my flex packages.
Joanne
No solution as of yet. What we had to go with was just what I suggested in the first post here where we still tell all our patrons that the minimum is 5 while having Tessitura allowing the package with four and just remembering to always add that one as a separate single line item. It is a little extra remembering for our staff, but we made the info button/sales notes required so our staff is reminded of this every time they sell that particular performance.
I would love a better solution, but I am really out of ideas on this. If you come up with anything, let me know, I would love to hear it.
It sounds like having this performance in a flex package is atypical. I mention because my suggestion is temporary and a last resort. In the back-end you can install what's called a trigger that would insert the fee into an order based on circumstances you define.
I say temporary because this trigger would go away during an upgrade (not impossible to immediately reinstall, just needs to be well documented). I say last resort because a trigger may cause performance issues and is completely a custom method that affects several tables. You'll want to test this thoroughly, including exchanges, returns, reports and history reports.
Feel free to PM me to discuss in more detail.
Hey John - Anything new with the most recent updates? We have a city tax which applies to only 2 of the 3 shows in my flex package. We also have been asked to have this fee show at checkout, so the price layer option is a last resort.
Hey Allison Walker,
I want to say "no", but actually, the real answer is "I do not know". Back then we did attempt to do some kind of triggered fee that worked reasonably well enough, but still was not ideal, and only worked because I knew enough SQL to make it happen. But our organization has long since moved to having all artist charity fees as pricing layers on shows. I know the Box Office enjoyed it, but I think it was actually the Finance department that drove that particular change.
Either way, I have been out of that particular issue for long enough that I really do not know the answer. I would love to believe that there IS a solution for you, though. At this point in time, to not be able to assign a fee to a performance and have it generate properly, regardless of what kind of package it is or is not inside of, WOULD seem like a defect that Tessitura would want to address; at least, that would be my opinion.
Worst case scenario, if you have someone who has some SQL knowledge, you could write an invisible precart page (if you are TNEW) that could get the job done for online orders; your Box Office staff would still have to remember to add it in when they are taking orders.
Happy to assist if you think I can help, otherwise, best of luck!
John A. Moskal II
Thanks John. I ended up doing a workaround with 2 fees whose parameters excluded the one show to which the city fee did not apply. It will be sufficient for now, but I hope it can be addressed in future updates.
It never hurts to submit an enhancement request; I would suggest doing so here.